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Oz Minerals full year profit slides 44%

Oz Minerals’ full year profit has fallen by more than 44 per cent but the company remains on track to meet its copper and gold production targets.

Oz Minerals’ net profit for year to December 31 fell to $152 million from $274.5 million in 2011.Revenue dropped 11.7 per cent to $985.7 million from $1.1 billion.

Lower copper prices and sales along with higher costs were blamed for eating into the company’s earnings.

The company also suffered an $11.3 million foreign exchange loss due to the higher Australian dollar in 2012 compared to a $5.3 million gain in 2011.

However Oz Minerals said it was on track to meet its previously forecast copper production target of 90,000-95,000 tonnes for 2013, a fall of up to 12 per cent from 101,737 tonnes in 2012.

It is also confident of meeting its gold production target of 130,000-150,000 ounces, compared to 140,746 ounces of the precious metal in 2012.

Oz Minerals’ 2012 results included five months of contributions from its Ankata underground mine at the ageing Prominent Hill open cut mine in South Australia.

Oz Minerals said exploration at its Carrapateena gold and copper project in South Australia was being fast tracked using a tunnel boring machine.

‘‘The decision to buy a tunnel boring machine to develop the exploration decline is indicative of the company’s growing confidence in the Carrapateena resource and the intention to accelerate the project towards a decision to mine,’’ the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

The company declared an unfranked dividend of 30 cents a share, down from the 60 cents paid in 2011.